MU mens hoops fall at RMU updated with quotes

Hawks do better from the foul line but falter against
powerful Colonials…

By Tony Graham

Staff Writer
Monmouth University men’s basketball coach King Rice said he got a phone call from Larry Brown the other day.
“”We had a great talk,’’ Rice said. “He said, “King, when I’ve taken over teams and when (John) Calipari took over UMass and when Calipari took over Memphis, you teach them the right things.’
“’But then you’ve got to figure out a style that gives them the best chance to win.’’
In Saturday night’s 69-51 Northeast Conference loss at Robert Morris, Rice mixed some zone defense in with his man-to-man pressure defense.
Rice also had his Hawks take fewer 3-pointers (2-for-9) than in some prior games.
Still Monmouth (0-8, 0-2), which has yet to lead at halftime this season, fell behind by double figures in the opening 10 minutes.
Monmouth battled back to cut a 19-point deficit in the first half to 11 early in the second. But it never threatened Robert Morris which has played in the last three NEC Tournament finals, winning two.
Junior guard Dion Nesmith scored a career high 13 points and junior guard Jesse Steele had 11 to lead the Hawks.
Robert Morris( 6-2, 2-0), coached by second year boss Andy Toole, a CBA graduate, was paced by freshman Lucky Jones. The St. Anthony graduate paced four players in double figures with 15 points.
Rice said Brown told him to still continue to do the things he believes in, which is a strong man-to-man defense and pushing the ball up the floor.
“”But you definitely have to look at giving your kids the best chance to have success,’’ Rice said. “”And that’s what we started doing tonight.’’
Monmouth closed within 45-34 shortly after intermission on a 3 by freshman Andrew Nicholas and two free throws and two baskets by Steele but got no closer.
“”Tonight we ran more plays, we pulled our defense back a little bit because our numbers our down,’’ Rice said. “”We don’t want to wear these kids out.’’
Three Monmouth players, seven-foot senior Phil Wait, 6-3 junior forward Ed Waite, and Dion Nesmith all fouled out in the second half.
The departure of Wait and Waite left Monmouth seriously undersized as it gave up 21 second-chance points.
The Colonials opened a 62-42 lead with 6:20 remaining.
Robert Morris began the game racing to a 34-15 lead after a jump shot by Jones with 6:04 left in the first half.
A lay-in at the buzzer gave it a 43-25 lead at the break.
Monmouth senior guard Will Campbell, who missed the last 3 games for “‘violating team rules,” returned to action midway through the first half and scored six points.
The Hawks, a poor free throw shooting team the last several seasons, showed marked improvement Saturday going 21-for-27 from the line.
Monmouth returns to action 7 p.m. Tuesday at Navy (3-5) . The game is the finale of its program record season-opening nine game road trip.

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About Tony Graham

Long time Asbury Park Press reporter of local high school and collegiate sports. Proud Phan of the 2008 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

4 Responses to MU mens hoops fall at RMU updated with quotes

No reflection on past, present or future but I miss Coach Krayl. Even if our offense was terrible he made it very difficult to score. Do we have 6 recruits coming in next year to play the new system? Because this crew looked so much better last year. Seems like we were in it until the last possession many times. This is very painful.

Is it time to end the Phil experience? I mean 17 minutes 0 points , 1 rebound, 5 fouls. Maybe he wasn’t made for this system.

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Josh Newman on Monmouth University and local college athletics

About the Author

Josh NewmanJosh Newman has worked for the Press since September 2004, covering a variety of high school beats in addition to college sports and the New York Jets. A 2004 graduate of Springfield College, he is currently the beat reporter for Monmouth University.E-mail Josh

Sherlon ChristieSherlon Christie is a sports reporter at the Asbury Park Press. He joined the APP in the fall of 2004. He grew up in Massachusetts, has a BA in Journalism from Northeastern University's School of Journalism. He is also the secretary of the National Association of Black Journalists.E-mail Sherlon

Steve EdelsonSteve Edelson has been covering the area sports scene for more than 25 years. And while he has chronicled the accomplishments of many athletes, he's still patiently waiting for his first hole-in-one.E-mail Steve

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How I feel about the departures of Dion Nesmith and Marcus Ware

A good move, King Rice needs to look to the future with younger players who are :"his" recruits (57%, 67 Votes)

Not a good move, they would have been fifth year seniors who may have helped significantly (31%, 36 Votes)